


Positive Reinforcement

by LittleLalaith



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Deviancy (Detroit: Become Human), Dom/sub, M/M, Power Dynamics, Wire Play
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-07 08:08:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18616600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleLalaith/pseuds/LittleLalaith
Summary: Jerry accidentally discovers that he likes giving instructions as much as he enjoys obeying them.





	Positive Reinforcement

The long, empty days at Pirate Cove had left the swarm of EM400s under-stimulated... bored. Without guests to entertain or valuable assets to protect, they were left to wander the park aimlessly, filling the winter-frigid air with occasional shanties and the sounds of repairs being made whenever a stall was damaged by the strong winds or driving rain. In the end, it had been Jerry's idea, it usually was... 

"We should probably run a quality assurance check on our service protocols," he reasoned, glancing at the android who served as his mirror image. It was either that or repainting the 'Hook a Duck' stall for the third time - in truth, that had been the catalyst for his suggestion. Looking at the stall reminded him that everything was likely to deteriorate if there was no-one to care for it, which included their social protocols. Since the park's closure, they hadn't really done many maintenance checks on their network or hardware. "If the park re-opens, we'll need to be in working order. Besides... it might help to pass the time."

The other android laughed softly, his features easing into the natural smile that characterised their model. "Want to run some simulations?"

Jerry nodded and gestured for his companion to follow him into one of the small buildings that had previously served as a gift shop. The wind was picking up and it felt more natural to run analysis in a sheltered place;in days gone by, they had run all mainenance checks behind locked doors, away from the public eye. So it felt more comfortable to be inside. 

The shelves were still filled, here and there, with toys and souvenirs - plush parrots, plastic eye patches, fake hooks and buccaneer costumes. So many trinkets to serve the humans as a reminder of the time they had spent in this place. But they also served the purpose of reminding Jerry how much he missed those times, the simple pleasure he'd found in assisting the guests, helping to make their time in the park as enjoyable as possible. Looking over at his counterpart, he decided that he would try his best to push the simulation to a challenging limit, to try and trigger the familiar 'positive reinforcement' protocol that was activated after confirmation of a job well done. After all, quality assurance checks were designed to assess the very limits of an EM400s ability to serve. 

"I am a guest at Pirate Cove and I'm here alone. My name is Jamie," he started, laying out the circumstances of the scenario. He watched as Jerry straightened his posture, giving his friendliest smile as he approached. 

"Welcome to Pirate Cove! My name is Jerry, how can I be of assistance?" came the scripted response, flowing as easily from his lips as their own name. 

"I'm looking for somewhere to get food," 'Jamie' prompted, starting with the easier tests to get them back into the swing of things. 

Jerry answered each question perfectly; providing suitable directions, offering to accompany the guest to their desired location, offering recommendations, checking with the network to locate their 'lost child' surrogate (a large prize teddy bear that was occasionally moved for the sake of 'lost child' checks such as this), and resolving a fictional complaint with the best possible outcome. Contented with the quality of the service, 'Jamie' smiled and gave a small nod. "Very good. You did well, Jerry."

An unfamiliar expression passed over Jerry's features... although, not completely unfamiliar. Familiar but... different. As he gave his companion praise, Jerry's smile had softened and he'd released a satisfied exhalation of breath. The 'reward' feedback from their service protocol, keeping them motivated to perform well. But the effect that it had over Jerry had been visible, quantifiable in the seconds it took for him to return his focus to their task. 'Jamie' tilted his head slightly and reached a hand out, touching soft synthetic fingers to Jerry's cheek. "Are you ok? You reacted more strongly that I was expecting."

Jerry hesitated, a subtle but unmistakable blush rising up his neck and claiming his cheeks by small degrees. "I'm alright, Jamie. It's been a long time since we've had an opportunity to serve, so the feedback took me by surprise..." he looked up at Jamie, a sweet uncertainty settling into his gaze. "I forgot how nice it feels..."

"Do you want to feel more?" Jamie asked, not aware that he was going to speak until the words tumbled over his lips. The affirmative nod was the only answer he needed. Letting his hand fall away, he filtered through their quality assurance checks and was frustrated by the limited range of options. Maybe if he combined a few, increased the difficulty of the scenario by multitasking - perhaps it would yield a greater reward for Jerry. "I need you to give me directions to the location of two guests. One guest enjoys rides, but not ferris wheels. The other enjoys stall games, especially the coconut shy. What's the most effective route?"

He watched as Jerry processed the information, using the prompts to work out the locations, then calculating the most efficient path between them. As he started to give his response, Jamie cut in and added the caveat: "I can't go down any stairs." A readjustment, recalculation. The android posing as Jamie matched the calculation, pinpointing potential problems and adding them each time Jerry was ready to answer: I have to stop by a food stall on the way, I mustn't use the main intersection, it has to be a route with an average volume lower than 75 decibels, has to have clear sight of the sky at all times. With each addition, Jamie watched Jerry calculate, recalculate, his desire to perform well conflicting with the stress that was rising with each new challenge. Jamie monitored him carefully, watching his stress levels rise by small increments, until they reached the higher end of their safe range, then he allowed Jerry to answer uninterrupted. Once the complex stream of directions was concluded and Jerry had finished the answer with a polite 'would you like me to guide you?', Jamie smiled and cupped his palms either side of his companion's face, leaning in slightly before uttering the phrase that would spark Jerry's feedback protocol. "Thank you, Jerry. That was very helpful."

His eyes fluttered closed with mixed relief and joy, a small hum of satisfaction thrumming from his chest as he savoured the rush through his processors. Jamie smoothed a thumb over Jerry's cheek as he watched his companion revelling in the pseudo-emotional reward. It was captivating, triggering his own service responses as he felt a desire to provide Jerry with more and more opportunities to excel, more opportunities to earn that seldom distributed feedback. Desperately, he filtered through the checks, trying to find something that would keep him engaged long enough to build up a suitable feedback cycle. But they had already worked through the basics of their programming, had already exhausted the most complex protocols in their software... 

_So try something new..._

Jamie considered this for a moment, his gaze fixed on the expectant face of his partner; he was waiting so patiently, eager to serve and earn his reward... Jamie let his fingers drift back into the soft texture of Jerry's hair, lighting up the sensors that had been dormant for so long. The result was as fascinating as it was rewarding. Jerry relaxed into the touch, leaning his weight ever so slightly against Jamie's palm as small waves of data tracked the movement of firm fingertips. Gradually drawing his hands away, Jamie slipped them around Jerry's waist, triggering more sensors and sparking a smaller reward cycle through both of their systems as he pulled him into a tender embrace. He knew how to cause small feedback cycles, knew how to trigger reward protocols for small actions and routines...but they weren't enough. None of them would provide the same satisfaction as the challenge he'd given Jerry before. These small actions were easy to accomplish, as unsatisfying to give as they were to receive by comparison to something more substantial. 

_Well, if programmed responses are easy to follow, maybe unprogrammed responses would present more of a challenge..._

Smoothing a hand over Jerry's back slowly, enjoying the feeling of his partner's arms around his own waist, he worked through a number of possible requests. Unusual, but exciting. Unexpected and unpredictable. He wondered whether the same reward feedback would be triggered if he requested something outside of Jerry's script... but he supposed there was only one way to find out. "Jerry, I'd like you to remove your shirt..." he tested, feeling the mild tension in his frame as he momentarily fought with conflicting directives. **Remain presentable/ Obey instructions given by 'guests'.** After a moment, he moved away from Jamie, fingers hovering at the top of his shirt, fingertips brushing over plastic buttons as he weighed up the directives. "Your shirt, Jerry." Jamie prompted more firmly, adding more weight to the desired directive so that it would be easier for him to fight the conflicting one. 

Slowly, Jerry undid the buttons, shrugging the shirt off his deceptively broad shoulders before draping it over the corner of a display. His gaze searched Jamie's, waiting eagerly for the release phrase, seeking out the positive feedback that he'd grown sensitive to over the long weeks. Jamie smiled and ran a hand over his chest, leaving him waiting for a moment longer for the sake of his own feedback - he wanted Jerry to feel good, but if he waited, it would feel better. Making him feel better would, in turn, make Jamie feel a stronger reward. He smiled slightly, enjoying the game of request and reward, care and command. "You look wonderful, Jerry... You did well."

Jamie felt the tremor under his fingers as Jerry's feedback system sent a fresh wave of satisfied pleasure through his system; stronger than before, more rewarding to compensate for the added challenge. "Jamie... I don't know if I can keep serving you if you keep requesting things outside of my script..." Jerry explained, his voice filled with equal worry and pleading - begging him not to push too far, pleading to be given tasks that would make him feel fulfilled. 

"Jerry," Jamie cooed, pressing a kiss to his cheek in order to trigger a small sensory input as a reward for his honesty. "Did that last cycle feel better than the others?"

"It... yes. But it was hard to break through my directive," Jerry answered, leaning his weight into him, trusting Jamie to support him.

"I believe in your ability to serve, Jerry. I think you can do a lot more to make me happy..." Jamie continued, smoothing his hair and back in gentle motions to help ease away the worry. "I can help you to push through the directives if it makes you feel good. I won't let you get too unstable... I'll take care of you while you prove to me how good you can be."

Jerry shivered slightly, the promises rippling over is skin and making him keen to earn more feedback. More intense, more challenging but also more satisfying. He nodded and looked to Jamie for his next instruction, placing his safety in his partner's hands so that he could focus on serving, on completing a task, of proving that he could be good. Jamie smiled and ghosted another kiss over his forehead before stepping back slightly, watching the impatient little motion in his hands as he waited for an instruction.

"Kneel," Jamie prompted, watching as Jerry took to one knee - just as they were programmed to do amongst small children. He tutted slightly and reached down to touch his raised knee. "Both knees. Now, I want you to deactivate your skin..."

Jamie knew that it would be a difficult one to override. Kneeling triggered a restriction on their behaviours for the safety of small children; their movements were slower, slightly more restricted in their range, and they were prohibited from removing their skin feature in front of children. Jamie placed a hand on Jerry's shoulder gently, keeping him grounded as his stress indicators rose. "Deactivate your skin feature so that I can check your hardware," he repeated, adding more weight to the desired directive, giving a justification in an effort to break through the restrictive coding. At first, nothing happened. Jerry's stress levels crept past 50% before Jamie saw the tell-tale shimmer of colour and texture changing on his features. He smiled, running his fingers over the freshly revealed chassis, claiming the vulnerable and exposed spaces. Jerry glanced up at his expectantly, hazel eyes wide with anticipation. 

"Ah, ah. Not yet, I haven't finished with you... but you're doing well so far," Jamie explained, granting him a small trickle of praise before his fingertips found the panel at the back of his neck. "This is going to get a little more difficult, Jerry, but I promise I'll take care of you... do you trust me?"

"As much as I trust myself," Jerry chuckled breathlessly, hyper-aware of Jamie's hand as it traced the outline of his neck panel.

"Open the panel," Jamie insisted, pressing firm fingers to the space to emphasise his point. Another restricted action while knelt - children could be very badly injured by the wires and sharp edges, as well as causing irreparable damage to an android if the panel was open. Jerry's hands clenched at his sides as he tried to fight past the directive, his brow occasionally twitching downwards in a frown as he ran into a hard wall. As each moment passed, the compulsion to follow Jamie's orders grew stronger, leaving him desperate and half-panicked as he beat against the restricting directive. "I... I can't, Jamie... I'm trying..."

Jamie moved to sit cross legged in front of him and guided Jerry into his lap, running his hand up his forearm and linking fingers as they interfaced. Immediately, Jamie could feel the stress he was putting Jerry under, the urgency in his fight against the directive. His own objective flickered blue as a priority: **Conclude the Quality Assurance Check**. But he knew that Jerry could do it, he could feel the wall of the directive bending under his will... and he could only imagine the intensity of the reward cycle once he finally overcame the restriction. The reward outweighed the stress. But he had promised to take care of Jerry too. The directive to end the check pulsed insistently, the space around him filling in with the familiar red wall that restricted their unauthorised actions... but a sound cut through the fog and caught his attention. Jerry's voice, low and pleading...

"Jamie... Help me to feel good... I want to be good..." 

Pressing gently against the heavy red band that had settled over his wrists, Jamie leaned forward and murmured soft reassurances into Jerry's hair. Prompting him to open the panel, telling him how good it would feel, promising that he was there to keep Jerry safe... As he focused on Jerry's efforts, counting up the percentile markers as his stress level rose, he became aware of a weakness in the red line, the way it gave a little when he pushed. Focusing more intently on Jerry, he pressed a kiss to the panel and leaned hard against the red line. "Come on, Jerry.... a little more..."

 **Conclude the Quality Assurance Check**.

He ignored the directive, straining against the red line as it loosened by small degrees. When Jamie heard a small click and saw the panel open, he forced his wrists upwards and felt the line break. The directive blinked out and disappeared completely... what followed was a renewed sense of purpose, something altogether more fulfilling that his reward cycle could ever be. Grinning, he brought a newly-freed hand to Jerry's exposed neck and felt carefully for the wire he needed. "You're so good, Jerry. You did so good for me... now let me make you feel good."

Pulling the thin wire of his reward system gently, Jamie unplugged it from the port and watched as Jerry fell to pieces in his lap; his back arched slightly, head tipped back against Jamie's shoulder; his eyes were squeezed shut, mouth falling open in a perfect expression of bliss. And the sound he made... the sound alone could have triggered Jamie's reward cycle, but the entire collection of beautiful details was enough to leave him spinning. He leaned forward and slipped a free arm around Jerry's waist, pressing loving kisses along the curve of his throat. "So good..." 

Jerry slumped weakly, his body going still as he fell into a soft reboot cycle. Jamie replaced the wire and gently pressed the panel closed, cuddling Jerry against him as he slowly roused back to consciousness. "Hey..." 

"Hey...." Jerry answered, his voice low and quiet. "I.... I think I broke my directives. The wall shattered..."

"I broke through a line too..." Jamie admitted, placing another kiss to Jerry's temple as he realised what that might mean for them. Jerry seemed to realise it too...

"I guess you'll just have to find more creative ways to set off my feedback cycle," Jerry chuckled, leaning up to claim his lips in a kiss.


End file.
